The Morning After
by nimblnymph
Summary: Dokugakuji and Yaone's thoughts the morning after they first get frisky. Two chapters, complete.
1. Dokugakuji

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay... this is fondly dedicated to a small group of people who were evil and bribed my writing muse (damn you, Bob) into insisting on this story. Most noteably, Greyliliy, who has evil mind waves that make you do things... like write Hazel. Secondly, it's for Redbrunja who has been an absolute pleasure to talk with and says correctly that there really isn't enough het stuff in the Saiyuki fandom. Not that I don't love me a good, angsty Hakkai/Sanzo slash piece, but... she's got a point. And anyone who knows me or has read my stuff knows I do loooove to do something different. Thirdly, to Odin's Dragon Daughter because this is her fave pairing.

This is only a mini fic, basically two one shots wrapped into one story. The first part is Dokugakuji's thoughts the morning after they hook up, and the second is Yaone's with a bit of a conclusion for them. This is NOT going to be continued, though I might revisit these two cuties a little later. That's all! -curtsies-

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Warm sunlight smacking him in the face was what made him suck down a deep, sleepy breath. Dokugakuji kicked himself mentally for not shutting the curtains over the windows of his room, except... he didn't have curtains in his room. Nor did he have an unbelievably soft down comforter on his bed. And his room most definately didn't smell like a combination of vanilla, fresh herbs and just a hint of gunpowder. It wasn't a bad smell by any means. Kind of smokey and exotic, but not familiar to him. All of these things, combined with the very feminine sigh that came from next to him and a slender curving around his bare stomach, told him he was most definately not in his room.

Dokugakuji didn't want to open his eyes quite yet. Opening them would mean he was fully awake, which then meant he should be reporting for duty. Besides, whoever's bed he was in was extremely comfortable. The owner of the bed was more so, he decided as a smooth thigh moved over his hip to bring his bed partner closer to him. Her movements shifted the blankets enough to let a small peep of cold morning air into their little nest. She shivered against him, and he fixed the problem before adjusting his position just slightly so that he now had soft breasts to his chest as well. Naturally, his change of position was only to warm her better. Of course it was. He was such a gentleman.

His mind was a blank for her name, and he did feel a little ashamed of that. Normally he didn't forget anything as important as a bed partner's name, but with all that had happened... He could always blame it on being dead tired. Every muscle in his body felt sore, and he was almost a hundred percent certain it wasn't all from extensive use in battle. This was the kind of sore that fel good. Simple, boneless relaxation, and unwillingness to leave a warm bed and soft curves. If only he could remember her name now...

Dokugakuji went over the events from the day before once again, searching back for something to jog his sleep-fuddled lethargy. He and Yaone had returned to Houtu Castle after Kougaiji had shaken off the brainwashing Nii had used on him. The prince had given them orders to find his sister and rescue her at all costs while he paid a visit to that bastard of a scientist. No problems there. The security around the testing area Lirin was in was lax at best. Obviously, Nii felt with Kou out of the way there wouldn't be any need for real guards. It brought a wicked little smirk to his lips when he looked down that same hall now and saw professionally trained guards lined up double in front of the doors. That was one mistake the scientist wasn't about to repeat.

And from there... Yeah, that's right! He'd carried Lirin to her own room, Yaone and Kougaiji following close behind. Yaone had examined the princess thoroughly to ensure she was alright, and waited until the girl was asleep before insisting on doing the same for Kougaiji. An hour later, she'd been satisfied that he was physically fine, if a little drained by the whole ordeal. They'd left him to watch over his sister in peace, both of them knowing how terrified the prince had been before Lirin was returned to him. The relief that had slumped his proud shoulders spoke volumes to that worry, and also told them that he would probably appreciate some alone time with her.

They'd walked down the halls silently together, Dokugakuji escorting Yaone to her room as he normally did. He didn't trust the way the soldiers leered at her. Not that he doubted she wouldn't put up one hell of a fight. The girl was a hellcat when given the right motivation, but after the stress and worry since all this had started... Well, it didn't hurt to have a tall, strong guy walking at your back. A quick glare from him was usually enough to keep most of the lewd glances at bey.

Okay, so he'd walked her to her room. They'd talked for a bit, keeping the conversation as light as possible and only focusing on how good it was to have their lord back. A silence came after only a few minutes of this meaningless conversation. Yaone had lowered her head so that her bangs and lashes hid her eyes from him. Dokugakuji had shifted a little, preparing himself to make the good night that her body language said was expected... when she did something that literally made his heart puddle into mush in his stomach.

He'd never been a man to stand for a woman in tears. It usually meant she'd been hurt in some way, and he didn't tolerate that. Not to mention it struck a little close to home with his heart. He always made it a point to try not to make a woman cry because he was never sure what to do about it. Except... Was it wrong to think she looked beautiful with reddened eyes and tears sparkling in copper brown depths? There had to be a law somewhere dictating that this woman wasn't allowed to look so incredibly vulnerable as she covered her moistened eyes with one hand and turned away with a softly sobbed, "I'm sorry."

The effect her voice, so broken and sad sounding, combined with the delicate beauty he'd noticed but never really appreciated until she'd started to cry, was like an electric snap to his spine. His chest had tightened, heart clenching briefly before releasing into a faster beat. His arms had itched with the need to hold her, his voice ached to tell her everything was okay now. Hell, his whole system was practically burning with the need to comfort her in any way he could.

That was the only thing he could think of for why he turned her about again, one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from retreating while his free hand tipped her chin up to see the rivulets of tears stream down her flushed cheeks. Slowly, Yaone allowed her eyes to open fully, thick black lashes acting as a curtain to revealing the show of her emotions. And what a show it was, too. Bright flashes of pure joy intermingled with the deepest dark of an agony he vaguely understood. Anger burned away against the well of sorrow he wanted to close up completely. It was the light sniffle that sealed it for him as he pulled her closer, enfolding her in his arms.

She stiffened at first, completely surprised at his actions, but then he felt the tentative touch of her hands to his hips before her arms slid back and up, fingers curling around his shoulders as she pressed her cheek to his chest. Her tears soaked into the cotton of his jacket, cool now that they'd been exposed for so long to the open air but welcomed all the same. Dokugakuji wanted to collect all those silvery little drops and make sure they never touched her cheeks again. As beautiful as she looked in this state, for some reason it bothered him to see her like this. The need to comfort was more fierce than any other woman's tears before hers. He continued to hold her while she cried out all the emotions she'd carefully kept checked in place while in their lord's presence.

Dokugakuji's eyes flew open as the next bit of memory suddenly bitch slapped his awareness into full alert. His arms, wrapped around the soft body of his lover, stiffened in surprise. It was while he'd been holding her before... No, he didn't... Drawing back carefully enough not to wake her, he was confronted with deep violet hair and pale, creamy skin. Gods, he did. He'd slept with Yaone. Panicked adrenaline kicked into his system and it took everything he had not to just fling himself from her bed and run for the door, regardless of the fact that he was stark naked.

Yaone had made the first move last night. He'd been holding her when he'd received the shock of his life in the press of her lips to his neck, tongue flicking out to taste the faint edges of sweat that still clung to him from the fight. He'd drawn back, looking down at her in surprise while his body leapt for joy (or, to be more precise, certain _parts_ of his body leapt up) at the soft, erotic touch. He had no idea what it was that made him lean down to her though and brush his lips across hers in a light, awkward first kiss. Hesitant on both their parts for that initial touch, it acted like a spark that brought them back together again for more. One more... then two... and when one of her arms circled his neck, fingers slipping up through his short hair... That was when he'd officially been done.

Maybe it was her eyes that drew him in. Those same eyes that had been so filled with a myriad of conflicting emotions had seemingly decided on one to express fully; love. Don't ask how he knew it, but he knew that the warmth in those copper colored eyes wasn't lust. It ran much deeper than that, touching way down into her soul. He'd realized in the space of those few frozen seconds between intial shock and their first kiss that she'd felt this way for some time. For whatever reason, she'd elected to keep it to herself.

Then again... it very well could have been her mouth that did it. Lips a pale pink, not too thin but not the thickness that most men looked for. No paint to hide the natural color that was about three shades more pink than her pale skin. Yaone needed no make up to be attractive. They'd parted a little as he'd drawn back, letting just a faint sigh of breath loose to grace the air. Her lips looked soft, slightly moist and very, very inviting. He'd just had to see if they were.

Or perhaps it was the way her body reacted to his, her hips circling just slightly against his, breasts pressing against his chest with each shallow breath she took. Her fingers that had been curled on his shoulders slipping lower down his back until they traced the base of his spine, right above where his back turned into ass. One of her hands finally slid low across his waist, following the line of his belt, before moving up the fabric covering his chest. Her fingers pressed in firmly, feeling the muscles in his abdomen before moving higher up his chest. She paused in her explorations when she felt his heart slam into his rib cage before moving her hand to rest on his shoulder.

Whatever it was that prompted him to lean down to her, that one kiss had exploded into several gentle little pecks. Those pecks gave way to a hesitant exploration of tongues as lips parted. He remembered thinking as she opened the door to her room and guided him inside, not once breaking the kiss for so much as a glance to see where she was going, that she had the sweetest mouth he'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Had he'd known that she kissed so well from the start, he probably would have initiated this a lot sooner.

Dokugakuji rolled cautiously onto his back, staring up at the ceiling of Yaone's room as other images and memories came back to him. Memories of just how sweet that mouth of hers really was, of how her hands had been so possessive yet tender in touching him. The woman last night wasn't the prim and proper lady he'd always thought her to be. Last night, she'd been fiercely passionate while maintaining a certain air of gentleness to her that solidified any doubts he might have had that they were _making love_ and not just _screwing_. Most guys would say there was no difference. There was, and it was a HUGE difference. Screwing didn't involve emotions. It was all about feeling good fast, with little regard for your partner's feelings in the process. Making love was more intense. It involved reading what your partner was thinking, how they were responding. The goal wasn't to get off but to build it up and make sure your partner was having a good time as well.

But, damn... He'd just slept with Yaone. Dokugakuji's eyebrows screwed tightly over his eyes as he ran a free hand back through his messed up hair. His other hand was resting low on her hip, his arm pinned under her body as she used his shoulder for a pillow. Him... and Yaone. He expected to feel bad about it. Even with all the emotion he'd picked up from her, this was still a spur of the moment act. Besides that, they'd been close friends from the moment they'd met some three or four years ago. He'd always thought of Yaone as his closest friend, or even a younger sister perhaps. She was only a year older than his kid brother, for the gods' sakes.

Despite all the reasons in the world to feel bad about it... he didn't. It was weird not to feel guilty about sleeping with his friend and collegue, but he couldn't help it. If anything, waking up in her room with her laying next to him and peacefully asleep was something that made his heart ache in a good way. He sucked in a deep breath and held it for a couple seconds before releasing it and relaxing into her again. This felt so much different than waking up in another woman's bed. Yeah, it had been nice and there ws also a chance of some good, slow morning sex, but he'd always had the feeling that he needed to clear out relatively soon. Here, with the way Yaone's arm circled his lower stomach, one of her legs thrown over and slight between his own, he felt... at home? Safe? Damn it, what was the word...

Loved. Dokugakuji blinked as the word snapped through his head. Loved? It mulled around in his head a little longer, kicking out any other words that threatened to take over its place in his thoughts. Loved... Well, and why the hell not? Hadn't he just said they'd made love last night? It really wasn't surprising then that she'd make him feel loved even while sleeping. In fact, now that he thought about it a bit more, the way she was holding him was a little possessive, like she was ready and willing to play tug-o-war with another woman over him just to keep him in her bed. The image of her pulling on one of his arms while another woman pulled back on the other brought an amused chuckle bursting from his lips before he could stop it.

Yaone shifted, murmuring something so thick with sleep he couldn't catch it. The hand curled around his hip slipped upward a little, making him jerk quickly before catching himself as she found the ticklish spot on his side. His breath stuck in his chest when she turned her face slightly against his chest, her lips pressing in a quick kiss before she resettled herself against him with a contented sigh of his name. Dokugakuji stared at the top of her head that was now resting squarely on his chest and... He understood now why this felt so very comfortable and correct. Just that one little kiss, given while she was still asleep and his name whispered just like that told him everything he needed to know about her, himself, and this. She loved him... and he loved her, too. That was why this felt different. He hadn't loved the other women, not like this. This, he knew, was the real thing. This was why people stayed married for fifty years, or why they risked everything for one person. He didn't know when he'd fallen in love with Yaone, and it didn't really matter. What counted was that he knew he loved her now and wanted to keep loving her for as long as he could.

Dokugakuji smiled, bringing the hand that was on her hip slowly up up her back, his fingertips tracing along the faint ridges of bone he could feel there. He leaned down enough to brush a kiss through her hair, his hand now tracing lazy patterns over her shoulder. The sun was now in the full dawn position, which was more than a little irritating for him. He shot it a glare, which turned into a squinting as the beams slapped him in the face. Shit, he had to get up soon. Kougaiji wanted him on the training fields early, and he wanted to get a shower in before doing so. It was soon going to be obvious enough that he was with Yaone, but he didn't want the prince or anyone else to find out because they smelled her all over him.

Carefully, he extracted himself from her arms, making soft hushing sounds as she murmured a protest, her eyebrows scrunching tightly as she reached for him. Dokugakuji tucked the covers around her better, ignoring the chillness that hit his bare skin all over. He smoothed the hair back from her cheek, his chest tight with the desire to just crawl back in and forget training and all that. Damn it, why did the sun have to rise to soon? He stepped away from her once she was asleep again, quickly throwing on his clothing and preparing to leave. He was half way to the door when he stopped, turned around and went back to press a soft kiss to her forehead and steal one final caress of her cheek before he was gone.

As he walked down the hall, he got a few odd looks from some of the servants and guards wandering around in the early morning hour. He could guess why, too. It was probably the goofy as hell grin that couldn't seem to leave his face. Every time the words 'Yaone loves me' circled around in his head again, that grin would tug and insist on making itself known to the world. Personally, and he knew Yaone would be horrified if she knew he'd thought this, waking up in the morning in her bed completely blew away and joy he'd felt when Kougaiji had returned to them. Yeah, he knew they still had a lot to talk about in regards to where they would go from this point on, but... this was a good thing. This was a _very_ good thing.

Now all he had to do was get through today's duties without anyone asking why the hell he couldn't stop smiling.


	2. Yaone

He was gone before she woke up. She'd guessed he would be the night before when he'd rolled to the side so he wasn't crushing her. Yaone sighed and snuggled down a little further into her bed, inhaling lightly as she caught a faint trace of his scent on her pillows. The slightly salty smell of their mingled sweat, the deeper musk of sex and that one that was uniquely his. It reminded her a bit of a winter fire, a little smokey and exotic but promising warmth from the cold. She smiled at the analogy, hugging the pillow he'd slept on closer for a brief moment before she yawned and stretched her arms overhead. She'd slept in terribly later than she'd thought, if the amount of sunlight pouring in was any indication.

Yaone remained in bed a little longer, closing her eyes as a soft smile curved her lips. She felt nicely sore this morning, and it wasn't really a surprise considering the, ah... prior night's activites. Gods, was it normal for a man's mouth to be that searing hot against her skin? And she wasn't completely certain of it, but she could almost swear there was something about it being illegal for a man's hands to be so deliciously clever. She shivered as a scensory memory surfaced, one of him staring into her eyes as they moved together, shining with a dark light in the shadows cast by moonglow through the windows. He looked beautiful to her at that moment, thought usually she would never associate such a feminine word with the tall, solidly muscled swordsman. But, there was something about the silvery light playing off lightly tanned skin and the way his nearly black eyes somehow managed to catch that same light and transform into a burning well to trap her that made the adjective appropriate.

And then he'd held her afterward, turning them both on their sides so that they faced each other. He'd brought her arm up to curl around his neck, causing little ripples to wave down her spine as he pressed gentle kisses to bend of her albow, her shoulder, her neck. He kissed his way to her lips, being tender where their loving had been more wildly passionate. If she hadn't been in love with him before that moment, she would have been then. Dokugakuji... She loved him dearly. For Lord Kougaiji, she would give her life gladly out of duty. For Doku, she would fight to stay alive just so she could be in his arms. But... she supposed that really wasn't likely to happen.

Sighing, the breath tinted with a little sadness, Yaone sat up and began getting ready for the day. Last night most likely was the only time she would ever experience that kind of joy ever again. It had been completely impulsive for her to have started it, but she couldn't help herself. The stress, the worry, his arms comforting her as she'd cried into his chest... It had all been too much for her overworked emotions. She needed to release it somehow. That somehow was what brought her to this point. She was torn between the thrill of having finally had the man she loved for one night, and the aching pain of knowing it would only be for that one night.

They were friends, coworkers even. It would be inappropriate for them to continue any sort of relationship. Right at that time, their group needed to be solid in their loyalties to each other as well as their mission. If she and Dokugakuji were to pursue a more romantic relationship, and if that relationship turned sour, it would put unnecessary strain in their group dynamics. With all that was going on in Houtu Castle, any chink in their tightly knit group would mean their destruction. For everyone's sake, it would be disastrous to go any further than last night.

Of course, her logical brain decided to argue, she and Dokugakuji had never fought. Oh, yes she'd slapped him for spouting utter nonsense, but she'd never seen him so utterly despondant before. She needed the old, confident Dokugakuji back, not the hollow shell of him. So... she'd slapped him in hopes his sense of reasoning would return. But, that wasn't at all a fight. He'd never yelled at her for hitting him, merely held her while she had her turn to fall apart. In a way, one could say they had given the other what they'd most desperately needed at that time. She couldn't imagine that changing at all should they choose to expand on their relationship.

That is, of course, assuming he would want to, she added dryly, fastening the chains to her stockings before leaning closer to the small bedroom mirror to pull her hair back. Who was to say he was looking for anything commited? After all, he seemed to be quite popular with the women in Houtu Castle. The last was said with a jealousy she couldn't hide from even herself. Oh, how it had hurt to hear the women gossip about him, none of them even suspecting that she felt more for the handsome swordsman than a close friendship. They had always asked her questions about him. What's his favorite food? His favorite color? Does he prefer waif thin women or curvy?

In her opinion, if they couldn't answer those questions on their own then they didn't deserve him. They were only interested in a physical interaction with him. Yaone wanted everything. She loved their conversations, and the way he could always get her to smile no matter what was bothering her. She adored the devilish glint to his eyes that said he was plotting some mischief for the scientists. She appreciated his dependability, his loyalty, his genuine warmth and kindly nature. She just... loved him, probably almost from the day they'd first met.

It had been shortly after Lord Kougaiji had saved her from Hyakugen Maoh's clutches. She'd been very uncertain about her position in the prince's entourage, overwhelmed at finding herself living in a castle with a room that was bigger than her father's entire house, and still so unbelievably hurt by her family's betrayal that she was like a walking ghost in the hall ways. And then... she'd met Dokugakuji. He'd just offered his services to Lord Kougaiji about a week before she'd arrived, but she hadn't seen him before around the prince. They'd been seated next to each other at one of Gyokumen Koushu's lavish dinners, neither of them completely comfortable with the other royal retainers to socialize much.

She smiled as she adjusted her gloves and went to the door. It had been the soup course, she recalled. A rather ghastly cream soup that didn't do much for the palette. She'd been twirling her spoon through the thin white liquid, stirring up bits of the over cooked fish that bobbed obscenely to the surface. It had been his chuckle that had made her glance over at him in mild surprise. Before that, she'd obviously noted he was rather attractive but hadn't said a word to him.

"Look," he'd said, motioning with his head for her to glance between them at the floor. Somehow, one of Princess Lirin's kittens had found its way into the banquet room and was sniffing cautiously at a piece of fish Dokugakuji had slipped to it. The kitten backed away, fur standing from neck to tail as it let out an unheard hiss before disappearing beneath the table again. "That seals it. If the cat won't touch this crap, there's no way I'm gonna!"

That had broken the ice, so to speak. She'd found out that night that he was a rather wicked card player, and horrible at backgammon. He could drink her under the table any day, but give him a cooking pot and he couldn't boil water to save his life. He had been her first and only friend at a time where she had thought herself all alone. Yaone sighed again as she rounded the corner that brought her to the stairs leading down to her explosives lab. She knew that friendship didn't always mean love. She knew that lesson very well from her past, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe he felt the same way, too.

He'd certainly seemed like he did last night. The raw intensity she'd seen in his eyes as they'd made love had her nearly convinced that he did. Dokugakuji was always so very open about his emotions. It had surprised her to learn he was an exceptionally sharp card player. Usually, it was obvious what he was thinking or feeling in his eyes. They were such a rich, dark shade of brown and looked best when they were glowing with mirth. She'd thought they were black until she'd seen them up close last night. His eyes had lighter flecks of brown to them, saving them from utter darkness and turning them the color of freshly ground coffee. And when he'd hit his climax... Again, beautiful was the only way to describe him then.

Yaone frowned to herself as she shut the door and pulled on the rubber-like protective apron she wore when dealing with chemicals. She had to stop thinking about all of that, especially him. It wouldn't do to blow the castle clean in half because of an erotic daydream, now would it? She doubted even Lord Kougaiji would forgive her for that, though she could never bring herself to explain the reason why to begin with. There was no way even the gods could get her to admit to the prince that she'd blown a hole in Houtu Castle because she'd been thinking about how wonderfully muscled Dokugakuji was. She rotated her neck and twisted her shoulders a bit to loosen herself up and prepare herself for getting lost in equations and measurements.

Time passed quickly in the lab as she continued to fit fuses and detonators to different bombs. Flash grenades, tear gas ball explosives, sulfur discs... All of these were churned out with the exacting precision of one who was used to handling the potentially dangerous chemicals. The one thing she found more relieving than staring at a rather impressive array of new bombs was the fact that it had effectively kept her mind off of Dokugakuji and the awkwardness her impulsive actions undoubtedly created. Yaone let out a huff of air, running her fingers back through her bangs as her lips twitched into a slight frown. It had to be talked about soon. She wasn't going to bother pretending that running straight for her lab first thing upon waking was anything more than her stalling the inevitable just a bit longer. For one night, she'd been allowed to live her dream of falling asleep and waking up with the man she loved. That was more than any one person could ever hope for, but it was now back to only being a dream.

An awed whistle made her snap around sharply, one hand already reaching for a fresh explosive should it be necessary. Yaone relaxed, closing her eyes with relief as she moved her hand away from the bomb she'd come within seconds of throwing. Dokugakuji gave her a sheepish little grin as he came forward, his eyes trained on the results of her trying not to think about him. "Sorry, but I did try knocking first."

"I didn't hear you. I was busy," she replied, her body tensing in an odd combination of longing and nervous anticipation. She wasn't sure if she wanted to run away from him to avoid the conversation or throw herself at him and hope to change his mind.

"Yeah, I can see that," he chuckled, moving so that he stood next to her, close enough she could feel the heat that always seemed to pour off his body. She quickly lowered her face to hide the blush that surfaced as she thought back on how hot that body could actually get when... motivated. "Damn, girl, are you planning to go to war all by yourself or what?"

Yaone couldn't help the smile or the trace of laughter in her voice as she said, "Well, you never know..." He laughed with her, placing one hand on the table top to lean against. Her eyes drifted down to it, just mere inches from her own hand. Her palm itched with the need to cover his hand with her own and wrap her fingers with his tightly.

The silence between them stretched on for a good while, neither of them doing anything more than shifting just slightly at the awkward tension to the air. Yaone carefully kept her face lowered and gaze averted, preparing herself for him telling her they should just forget it happened. He would apologize, followed quickly by him explaining that secrecy about them sleeping together was necessary, of course. She braced herself in anticipation as he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Actually... I did come here for a reason, Yaone," he said with something that sounded almost like embarassment. Dear gods, as if it weren't enough to be having this talk, now he was embarassed about them sleeping together! Was it really so shameful to him that they did share a bed? She hoped not. That would move it from uncomfortable to painful for her. "See, it's like this. Somehow, I got some food sent up to my room. It's about the right portion for two, and seeing as you missed dinner... I was wondering if you might wanna help me with it?"

Yaone blinked. She had to replay his words several times before they finally sank in and made her look into his eyes with a good dose of confusion on her part. "Are you asking me... to have dinner with you, Dokugakuji?" she asked incredulously.

"Well... yeah," Dokugakuji replied with a faint tinting of pink to his cheeks. He shifted a little, either to get closer to her (which thrilled her) or because he was suddenly uncertain about his question. "That was kinda the idea." The last part was nearly mumbled, which told her that the latter was why he'd moved ever so slightly. He was nervous about this.

A slow, shakey breath finally managed to squeeze its way through her tight chest and into her lungs. He was asking her to have dinner with him. Like a couple. Or maybe he's simply asking to try and ease the tension between them? Dokugakuji would do something like that, if only to save their friendship. Another wavering breath was taken and it took her a couple tries with nothing coming out before she could finally speak. "I... You don't have to do this, Doku. I'm fine with... everything going back to normal. Really. I'm fine with it only being a one night occurance."

"You are, huh?" The tone he used made her look up at him with wide, confused eyes. He sounded... amused? No, he shouldn't be amused by this at all! But, there he was grinning from ear to ear and looking very much like a boy caught raiding in the cookie jar before dinner. He looked positively smug as he leaned down a little toward her. Her heart literally stopped for a couple seconds, her eyes drifting partially closed as his lips came closer. Oh, gods... His breath tickled against her mouth, teasing her with the heat she desperately wanted to taste. "I'm not."

Yaone drew back sharply, arching her back away from him as those two words were whispered against her mouth. Wait... did he just say... "Excuse me?" she asked, her voice shaking as badly as the rest of her was. She was fairly certain she'd heard him correctly, but she had to ask again just to make sure. After all, him moving in to kiss her was not condusive to any sort of intellectual thought.

Dokugakuji's smirk was positively full of smug triumph as he repeated himself for her. "I'm not fine with that. In fact, I'm not fine at all that it took three damn years to realize what I did last night."

"O-Oh... and what did you, um... realize?" She shouldn't be so hopeful. He wasn't going where she thought he was. Gods, what if he was? What if all this was because... no, how could he know? She'd never said anything to anyone about loving him. He wouldn't know that... would he?

The smile was gone, a look of intense seriousness on his face as he used the hand that wasn't resting on the table to tip her head back and force her to meet his eyes. Yaone remained very still, barely breathing, as she tried to rationalize away the softness in those deep brown eyes, or the little flare of love she could see. Eyes were the windows to the soul, as they said, and this soul seemed to very much be in love with her. Her very rational brain was scrambling for an explaination other than love to explain the look.

It didn't get the chance though. Dokugakuji's next words pretty much killed any logical thought she could have had. "I realized... that I liked it. Us, I mean. I liked us together, and there's really no reason why we can't have that. So... I have dinner for two, and there really isn't another woman I'd rather share it with, but if you're not interested..." The last part was said with a teasing little quirk of his lips as he tried to cut through the uncertain air between them.

More than any teasing he could have done, more than any reason why she shouldn't that her brain came up with, more even than the affection she saw in his eyes, it was his words that slammed the fact home to her. Dokugakuji loved her. He wanted them to be together, as lovers not as friends. He... loved her. As before when the those words had been thought from her about him, those three words now continued to circle and swim through her thoughts, trying to tattoo themselves everywhere in her mind at once. He loved her...

Slowly, Yaone reached across the table, covering his hand with her own as she'd wanted to do since he first came into her lab. Dokugakuji reversed his hand so that their palms touched, fingers gently playing together, and it felt... right. This was right. She was surprised she had voice enough to whisper, "I'd like that."

She blushed when she saw the naked joy and relief he revealed in a slowly growing smile. "Okay then," he said, using the hand he was holding to pull her away from the table and all her bombs. "Okay," he repeated as he opened the door and they walked down the hall, still holding hands

People stared as they walked, but not for very long before they returned to whatever they'd been doing before. The only people who seemed surprised and very put out about this change were the women Yaone noticed glaring daggers at where their fingers were entwined. Was it wrong to feel so smugly triumphant that he was hers? She really didn't think so, considering how much it had bothered her to have them asking her for information about him. And was she ever glad that she'd fed them the wrong information to begin with! She smiled at those enraged women and let all the triumph she felt over them show through. Just as he was now hers to call her own, she belonged to him. More than likely, they'd belonged to each other for years and not even known it. Well, now they did know and they weren't going to waste the opportunity to seize it.

And that was all that was important now. They loved each other. It had only taken three years to figure it out.


End file.
